Mauro Milanese named Leyton Orient manager

Leyton Orient have announced that former QPR defender Mauro Milanese will take over as the club's manager from Monday morning.

The League 1 outfit, who lost 3-0 at Port Vale on Saturday, sit one point above the drop zone with a game in hand after winning just three times so far this season.

In a bid to arrest their alarming slide from being promotion hopefuls last season, Milanese will make the switch from being the club's sporting director to moving into the managerial hotseat for the first time. Caretaker boss Kevin Nugent will remain at the club as coach.

A statement on the club's website read: "After a tricky couple of months, and in order for the club to be closer to the players, as of tomorrow [Monday] Mauro Milanese will take charge as team manager with Kevin Nugent as coach.

"Having worn the the shirt of great Italian clubs such as Inter, Napoli and Parma, as well as being a graduate of the prestigious Converciano coaching and management centre, Mauro will be an important fixture on the Orient bench providing an effective, hands-on presence for the players."

Nugent had stepped into the breach on an interim basis after Russell Slade quit Brisbane Road last month before taking the helm at Cardiff City.

Under Nugent, Orient managed to beat Doncaster away from home and pick up creditable draws against MK Dons and Sheffield United, but the club have now ended the uncertainty and drafted in Milanese to control team affairs.